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Media Statement
Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism
THURSDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2007:
“Yesterday’s tough decision by Cabinet to support the
suspension of wild abalone (also known as perlemoen) commercial
fishing will ensure the survival of the species and will also ensure
that our children and the generations that follow will know what
perlemoen is.” These were the words of Marthinus van
Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs & Tourism,
welcoming the Cabinet decision in this regard.
“To suspend fishing in any fishery is a very
difficult decision to take as we are aware that such a decision will
have an impact on the livelihoods of many people and families in the
industry. We are unfortunately at a point where the commercial
harvesting of wild abalone can no longer be justified because the
stock has declined to such an extent that the resource is threatened
with commercial extinction. The main causes of the decline in
abalone stocks are poaching and the migration of West Coast Rock
Lobster into the abalone areas. Rock Lobsters consume Sea
Urchins that provide shelter to juvenile abalone. This in turn
subjects the juvenile abalone to increased mortality. Studies
further show that unless decisive and immediate action is taken, the
resource will collapse completely with little prospect of
recovery.
For the past few years the recommendation from our
departments managers and researchers has been that the fishery is in
crisis and that closure could not be avoided. We are now at the
point where the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) reached a record low of
125t for the 2006/7 season. The only responsible option left to me
as Minister, is to take the unfortunate decision to suspend fishing
in the abalone fishery in terms of Section 16 of the Marine Living
Resources Act,” the Minister said.
In the early years, catches of abalone were
unregulated and landings escalated to a high of nearly 3000 tons in
1965, before declining rapidly to a point in 1970, when the first
commercial quotas within a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) were
introduced. The stabilising effect of a TAC managed fishery
was apparent, with catches remaining relatively constant at 600t -
700t per year between 1970 and 1995.
Over the past 10 years, due to declining resources,
the TAC has had to be reduced annually from 615t in 1995 to a record
low of 125t for the 2006/7 season. In 2004, when determining the
total global TAC for abalone, the Minister said “I also want,
however, today to give notice that if there is not a drastic decline
in poaching I will have to apply my mind at the start of the next
season as to whether it is perhaps time to consider a complete ban
on all Perlemoen harvesting for a period of ten years to allow the
resource to recover.” In determining the TAC for the previous season
the Minister furthermore announced the reduction of the TAC to zero
in 3 of the 7 zones.
The Minister added that it is also important to
reflect that worldwide, abalone fisheries have either closed or are
threatened by commercial extinction, for example the United States,
Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The North American
fisheries have now been closed for more that ten years. It has been
suggested that such fisheries are slow to recover because closure
was delayed.
“There are currently 302 rights holders (262
individual divers and 40 legal entities in the form of close
corporations) operating in the sector with about 800 jobs, including
the individual divers. These are the people and families this
decision will impact on the most. We have therefore consulted with
the Department of Labour and jointly developed a Social Plan to
mitigate impacts of suspending Wild Abalone Commercial Fishing. This
plan includes our departments commitment to developing a sustainable
aquaculture industry and the issuing of additional permits for whale
watching and shark cage diving,” the Minister concluded.
To ensure that the suspension of harvesting is
observed, monitoring and control on the part of the Department will
be up scaled. Abalone population dynamics will also be monitored
through regular research surveys.
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Enquiries to:
Mava Scott (Acting Chief
Director: Communications) Mobile: 082-411-9821 E-mail: msc...@deat.gov.za
OR
Riaan Aucamp (Minister's Spokesperson)
Mobile: 083-778-9923 E-mail: rau...@deat.gov.za
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